Japan Oct crude imports from Iran fall 40.2

Japan’s crude oil imports from Iran fell 40.2 percent in October from a year earlier, data from the trade ministry showed, as Western sanctions made shipping from the Middle Eastern country difficult.

The Islamic Republic is under intense pressure from U.S. and European financial restrictions imposed over its disputed nuclear program.

The sanctions have more than halved OPEC member Iran’s oil exports, and most of what is left flows to Asia. Exports fell to 1.3 million barrels per day in October and around 1 million bpd in the two previous months.

Japan, the world’s third-biggest oil consumer, imported 773,542 kiloliters (156,949 barrels per day) of Iranian crude last month, compared with 891,300 kl in September, according to data from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI).

Japan’s overall crude imports totaled 16.17 million kl last month, down 3.6 percent from a year earlier. The decline in Iranian crude was covered by such suppliers as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Vietnam.